Lutherans remove pastor for gay relationship
Pastor Dale Morgan
Lutherans remove pastor for gay relationship*
06.07.2007 Source: AP ©
The gay pastor of Atlanta's oldest Lutheran church, who disclosed he was
in a same-sex relationship, will not leave the pulpit despite being
removed from his denomination's clergy roster.
The Rev. Bradley Schmeling's decision could open the 350-member
congregation at St. John's Lutheran Church to disciplinary action from
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
"The congregation issued a call to me in 2000 and as far as we are
concerned, that hasn't changed," Schmeling said. "I'm disheartened (the
decision) gives the impression the church is more interested in rules
than in compassion."
In a decision issued Monday, the appeals committee ruled 10-2 to reverse
an earlier panel's ruling that had allowed the pastor to stay on the
roster until Aug. 15. By ELCA rules, Schmeling is now a lay person
within the denomination, who should not wear a stole or perform
sacraments, said Emily Eastwood of the gay rights group Lutherans Concerned.
But the congregation's president, John Ballew, said nothing will change
at St. John's, though the church hopes to remain within the ELCA.
"Our respect has only grown in the last 14 months," Ballew said. "For
us, it means nothing."
Schmeling told St. John's and his bishop that he is gay before he was
chosen as pastor in 2000. But last year, when Schmeling announced he had
found a lifelong companion, Bishop Ronald Warren of the ELCA's
Southeastern Synod asked the 44-year-old pastor to resign.
When Schmeling refused, Warren started disciplinary proceedings against
him, leading to a closed-door January trial in which a disciplinary
hearing committee basically served as the jury.
In their decision, seven members of the 12-member disciplinary committee
said they felt the church rule left them no choice but to defrock
Schmeling, effective Aug. 15. But the committee also wrote that, if not
bound by the rule, it "would find almost unanimously that Pastor
Schmeling is not engaged in conduct that is incompatible with the
ministerial office" and would order no discipline.
The committee suggested that the ELCA should remove its rule and
reinstate gay clergy who were removed or resigned because they were in a
same-sex "lifelong partnership."
Both Schmeling and Warren appealed the committee's decision, and the
appeals members sided with Warren on Monday.
"My decision to seek Pastor Schmeling's removal from the ministry of
this church was difficult because of my deep respect for the pastor and
the congregation at St. John's, but the policy of this church is clear,"
Warren said in a statement Thursday.
The appeals committee ruled that the first committee had no right to
delay Schmeling's removal until after the ELCA's biennial meeting
churchwide assembly Aug. 6-12 in Chicago. It also said it exceeded its
authority by suggesting the church should change its policies.
The acceptance of gay clergy has been at the core of a heated debate in
many Protestant denominations. The ELCA, which has 4.9 million members,
allows openly gay clergy, but only if they are celibate. Still, many
Lutheran churches support ordaining partnered gays and perform same-sex
blessing ceremonies despite the policy.
At the ELCA's most recent national meeting in 2005, a proposal failed
that would have allowed synods to decide if they would accept a pastor
in a same-sex relationship.
Schmeling and his supporters hoped that his case would promote that
cause, and Schmeling has developed a following. Since the panel's
ruling, his congregation's membership has spiked and he came in fourth
in the election for the region's next Lutheran bishop. He even served as
a grand marshal for the annual gay pride parade in Atlanta, one of the
nation's largest such festivals.